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In hindsight, Ouma was probably the worst person to be stuck on cleaning duty with.
Kaito let out a long sigh, scratching the back of his head. He gave the door one last kick, but it remained locked, and he wasn't really interested in getting penalized for destroying school property. He sat on the floor and turned to the other boy "You sure that locking us in a cleaning closet isn't your bad idea of a prank?"
Ouma put a hand on his chest in a mock-offended manner "Your lack of trust hurts me, Momota-chan, and if I wanted to be locked up, it certainly wouldn't be with a stinky monkey like you!"
"You're the stinky monkey!" growled Kaito, raising a fist in the air. Ouma laughed, voice grating like nails on chalkboard.
"Nishishi, someone's offended. Oh well," he spun around with his hands folded behind his head before plopping down beside Kaito. His grin grew wider, almost ear to ear "guess you'll just have to enjoy your seven minutes of heaven with me. Or hours, but the ghosts in the school would probably drive you crazy by then."
Kaito paled, "D-don't go joking like that! It's not funny."
"Aww, scaredy cat." Ouma blew a raspberry "I wish it were Saihara-chan here. At least he could take on a ghost or two."
"That house was haunted! The piano-"
"What piano?"
"The one in the study that started playing randomly!"
"There was nothing there, Momota-chan." winked Ouma "Even Harukawa-chan said so, and she wouldn't lie to you."
Kaito's face turned as white as his uniform shirt if not even paler. "Shut it!", he exclaimed "I'm not listening to another word about your stupid dare-"
Ouma's face scrunched up "'kay. Killjoy."
Kaito let out another sigh. It was just his utter luck to land on Friday cleaning duty. With Ouma. Maybe if only one of them went to look for the dustpan, then they both wouldn't be stuck-
A shiver ran down Kaito's spine as he imagined the school's dark hallways. Nuh-uh. No way was he going to search those all night, and it's not like he could leave Ouma for the janitor to find tomorrow or next week, right? That wasn't heroic, and his sidekicks wouldn't let him hear the end of it even if they knew that Kaito and Ouma weren't on the best of terms anymore. Well, Shuichi wouldn't. Maki couldn't care less even if she tried.
And like hell was Ouma going to search for Kaito if he was the one locked up. No way after what he did to him. Damn these faulty one-way doorknobs!
"Hey Momota-chan,"
"Hm?" Kaito snapped from his thoughts and turned to Ouma, who was sitting beside him with his hand stretched out before him, his small hand illuminated in the faint moonlight that seeped through the closet's windows.
"If you could take it all back," continued Ouma, not looking at him "would you?"
"Take back what?"
"You know." Ouma looked at Kaito over his shoulder, winking at him "That."
Oh. Kaito turned away. His heart was pounding furiously, but he wasn't sure if it was his childhood sickness deciding to make a comeback or the onslaught of confusion that that simple statement made, or Ouma.
Probably the former. Or the latter. Both, even. Anything but the first.
"Nope. Never" he replied "Not to say I haven't though about it but- I don't regret saying what I said."
"Huh." said Ouma evenly. He closed his outstretched hand into a fist and lowered it to his side. A moment passed, and Kaito saw something strange pass on the other boy's face "Guess you are a monkey after all. In smell and brains."
Kaito rolled his eyes, half-expecting the dismissive response "They're not that far off from humans, you know. Some were even sent to space to test out if humans could make the trip."
"And," Ouma drew out the vowels, his voice dripping with sarcasm "how many came back?"
"That's not the point."
"Sure it is!" chirped Ouma, rising from his seat "It's like if you took a bunch of kids and shoved them into a room and didn't expect them to start killing each other or something." he folded his arms behind his back and tilted his head "Come to think of it, that could be a great concept for a game show. I'll call it Da-"
"Cut the crap."
Kaito leaned back and lied on the floor. He wanted to imagine that the flecks at the ceiling were actually stars and not dust aimlessly floating in the air like...well, he supposed stars aimlessly floated, too. People, too. He did before meeting Ouma, Shuichi, and even Harumaki. Their group wasn't as closed as he wished it would be, but it was something.
A finger poked Kaito's side "Hey, Momota-chan."
"What?" he grumbled, rolling around. Ouma squat beside him, his feet pressed together and knees raised. As he wobbled and tipped side to side, Kaito silently wished he'd lose balance.
"Do you think anyone's coming? You're boring to be with." the smaller boy pouted "Or maybe you'll kill me- that'd be cool, but you would obviously be caught, so guess not. What if you pulled again that stunt you did last Monday-"
At that point, Kaito droned out the rest of Ouma's ramblings, opting to stare at the ceiling once more.
He wouldn't take it all back...right?
His grandparents were shocked, but eventually they accepted it. He was his own person, afterall, and their only role was to support and love him, which they were more than glad to.
On the other hand, Harumaki had been mad, for all the unexpected reasons. She didn't mind if Kaito didn't return her feelings, nor did she not not expect him to confess his feelings in the middle of the schoolyard for everyone to hear, nor did she even care that his orientation was incompatible with hers.
No. Harukawa Maki was pissed that Kaito liked Kokichi, the only one she would even think of using her unique...talent on in the class.
"I expected better of you." she had told him later that day, and Kaito wasn't sure if she was joking or not. Probably three-fourths not, he figured.
Shuichi's face was unreadable, but even Kaito could tell he began to cling to Kaede harder than usual since that morning. Whether Kaede minded it or not, she wouldn't say, but she kept sending hard stares Kaito's way as if he couldn't notice them.
And Ouma was...well, Ouma. He had look stunned for a moment, flustered for a fraction of it, then his signature smirk took over his face. "Wow, Momota-chan! I didn't know you wanted to join my Secret Organization like that!"
Then he skipped away, seemingly unbothered by the dozens of eyes looking his way.
Kaito wanted to hit himself. Why had he done that? Why not a private moment, like now? He didn't consider how the others would feel or the vulgar gossip of the astronaut and the supreme leader's not-safe-for-work activities would spread like wildfire.
Some skeletons are kept in closet for a reason. Maybe Ouma wanted to stay there and not be forcibly-accidentally-outed.
"Ouma." Kaito spoke up, still not looking at the other boy's way "I'm sorry for putting you on the spot like that. Everyone must be talking about you."
Ouma hummed, and Kaito imagined he was making a thoughtful face right now "I'm used to it, Momota-chan! No one can resist talking about me, 'cuz I'm so cool and all. And what happened to Momota 'a man shouldn't apologize' Kaito?"
"But the other classes keep whispering about you, and I think Harumaki now put you on her target list, and you and Shuichi barely talk anymore." Kaito shrugged "Your status was shit before, but my stunt just made it the shithole, and that is something worth apologizing for, man or not. Even guys should know when to say 'sorry.'"
"Well," began Ouma, leaning over Kaito with the widest grin "This is why we don't do PDA anymore. Everyone knows high school kids are petty."
"I-I was just so frustrated that you were avoiding me that it all poured out-"
"Haven't you thought that maybe I was doing it for a reason?" Ouma twirled a piece of hair around his finger "Are you really as dumb as you look?"
"No. I mean yes- I mean- I'm not dumb, and I have considered that you didn't want to be around me, which is what I wanted to talk to you about anyway." Kaito held up a hand, making a list with his fingers "You wouldn't reply to my texts, you were barely online even in the group chats, and even in class you don't even stay long enough for me to catch you. You're frustrating, and last Monday was the first time I saw you alone in weeks, so I- it just...came out."
Ouma sighed "That's exactly what avoiding someone means, Momota-chan. This convo sucks and is now over." He turned around and began to walk away when Kaito grabbed his wrist. It was tinier than Kaito expected, and he was shocked for a moment before he tugged on it to stop the other boy.
"Kokichi, stop." He called out "We're stuck in this shithole for the next few hours, maybe until Monday, so might as well talk. We've got nothing better to do."
"Yeah we do. It's called sleep." replied Ouma, his back facing Kaito "Convo over, remember?"
Kaito tugged on his wrist harder, and Ouma fell back onto the floor beside Kaito with a soft cry "Ah, shit." sputtered Kaito "I didn't mean to be that rough."
Ouma growled, almost too low for Kaito to hear, before he turned around "Momota-chan." he began, his face completely blank "I don't want to talk about this."
"You're the one who brought it up!"
"And I can bring it down if I want to!"
Kaito blinked, and his hold on Ouma loosened. It had been the first time he heard him raise his voice. Ouma glared at him, holding his wrist tenderly. Awkward silence fell around them, until Kaito coughed.
"Maybe this so-called seven minutes of heaven is really hell." he said.
"Yup."
More silence fell. Kaito sighed. He glanced to see Ouma's hunched figure three feet away, sitting on the floor with his knees pulled to his chest. His back was still facing Kaito.
"I'm. Sorry." spoke Kaito again. Fuck what he said before. Fuck being manly "That I outed you with that...outburst. And ruined your chances with Shuichi."
Ouma scoffed, but remained silent. Kaito went on "If it helps, I can try making you friends again or something."
Not that Shuichi would like being more tangled in the affections triangle he, Ouma, and Kaito sort of formed, but hey, maybe they could still be just friends?
"'Or something.'"
"Yes." Dammit, what was he saying? He was Momota Kaito, Luminary of the Stars, not some flustered teen in the middle of a drama! "He's a real cool sidekick and a good kid, so I think you two will make up in no time. Or out, if that's what you want. No hard feelings from me."
This time, Ouma gagged "Make out? Do you even hear what you're saying, Momota-chan?"
"Don't you want to?"
"Maybe I do, maybe I don't." shrugged Ouma, finally facing him "Doesn't matter now that half the school knows someone else is into me and that I'm just as much as a flaming homo as them.."
"That's rough, but that phrasing also hurts so screw you-"
"But you know what would fix that?" Ouma asked, his eyes sparkling mischievously.
"What?" Kaito asked, before he was silenced promptly by being hit in the face. On the mouth, rather. With Ouma's mouth. Actually, Ouma's lips.
His brain short-circuited before he could make the connection.
A second passed before they separated, and Kaito leaned away, mouth gaping and face aghast "What the hell?!"
"About forty-three minutes of it already." said Ouma, looking at a nonexistent watch around his wrist before looking back at Kaito "And here I thought that would be heaven for you."
"I might like you, Ouma, but even I have a speed limit."
.
"Rockets need to go faster than Earth's gravity."
"What?"
"What?"
"What- Never mind. Back to the point: how does making out with me help fix your unreciprocated feelings for Shuichi? I'm not some rebound to play with."
Ouma shrugged again "Maybe because I never had feelings for Saihara-chan at all? Do I really need to spell it out?"
"But even dense Kiibo can see your lovey-dovey eyes whenever Shuichi comes to class."
"And half the school said we've fucked in every room but a bedroom." Ouma pouted "I don't see how they say should be taken as anything but a grain of salt."
Kaito paused as moved into a squat, resting his elbow on his knees and his chin on his hand "So you're saying...you don't give a fuck as to the gossip around you? That I pulled you out of the closet while at it?"
"Nope! Why would I?" Ouma quipped, tilting his head with a big smile "I know the truth, so why would a few lies bother me?"
"O...kay." Kaito's eyebrows knit together "I still don't see why you...did that with me."
"I'm not into PDA, Momota-chan, but I can be if the 'P' is 'private.'"
Kaito's frown deepened, and he was sure he looked like a replica of 'The Thinker' in his current posture "You're saying...Shit. I don't think I follow."
"I didn't say shit." Ouma replied, now standing over Kaito again "I said I accept your confession."
Oh. Oh.
Kaito was slow, he admitted it, but even he could not dismiss that statement casually. Though maybe he should, considering Ouma's honesty track record, which was to say, nearly non-existent.
"Is this a prank or a lie or...?"
"Nope. Totally legit." the small boy's expression was neutral, void of a smile for once "I accept it, no crossed fingers and stuff."
Kaito took in a deep breath. That did not go as expected. In fairness, he didn't know what he was expecting when he suddenly yelled at Ouma to stop being a "dumb gay baby" for leaving the Training Quartet in the middle of the school yard, but it was certainly not being locked up with that same dumbass in the janitor's closet in the middle of the night and being reciprocated just a few days later.
Maybe his brain would short-circuit again. Oh, Ouma was looking at him. Oh, he hadn't said anything yet.
Oh.
Oh.
"Uh..." Perhaps not the best choice of first words, but it was something, which was all Kaito needed "What now?"
"I dunno." Ouma sat across him, legs folded and feet pressed together like a butterfly stretch "What do you think, Momota-chan?"
"I think..." began Kaito. Think, think, dammit. Beat still, his heart, he needed to think! "I think this means we can go out? Date and shit like Yumeno and Chabashira?"
Ouma's face scrunched up "Ugh, fine. But I get to be small and cute Yumeno-chan; you're the loud, punch-before-you-think and yell-before-you-punch Chabashira-chan."
Kaito rolled his eyes "Whatever. So uh...dating, then? How about the cafe down the street, tomorrow 3 PM?"
Ouma blew a raspberry "A café, how cliché of you. But okaaay, fine." He nudged his head to the locked door beside them "If we get out of here before then anyway."
"Oh. Right." Kaito scratched the back of his head. He was sure his face was heating up, and wished that the darkness of the room hid it at least a bit. He didn't want too look too giddy and excited. He glanced at Ouma, who was raising an eyebrow at him "So why did you start being cold around us and stuff?"
Ouma blanched, "Feelings are icky. You are icky. No one likes icky stuff."
It was probably too early for the joke, but Kaito couldn't hold his tongue "You do."
Ouma...pouted? No that was too un-Ouma. Kaito didn't think he could handle it "I know what I said."
Oh. He really was pouting. And now it's a grin. Kaito sighed, wondering how Harumaki hid her feelings for so long when every little thing was now turning him into an eternal internal wreck.
An idea popped into his mind, and muttering one last 'fuck it' beneath his breath, Kaito inched forward. Ouma stared at him expectantly, and gave him a small nod even though Kaito hadn't even said anything yet. He leaned forward more and planted a peck on the small boy's head, only to get a pout in return. Groaning, he moved again, aiming for the lips this time.
His brain short-circuited once more.
---
"He's got to be here somewhere, Harukawa-san; you don't need to kick down every door to check."
"He's not responding; it's been three hours since the school closed; and we found his room back at the classroom." replied Maki, her hair whipping behind her as she turned to face Shuichi "He's on cleaning duty with Ouma and if he did something to Kaito..."
"I'm sure he can handle himself just fine. It's not like he hates him." replied Shuichi, holding onto his hat as he ran after Maki. Sneaking after hours was not one of their usual activities, but leave it to Maki to do anything if it involved Kaito's well-being, and Shuichi was not one to leave his friends alone.
She remained silent, climbing the stairwell to the third floor when Shuichi noticed a small alcove. He went closer and saw a small door. He grabbed the doorknob and jiggled it a few times until it swung open, revealing two figures on the floor.
Normally, Shuichi wouldn't be glad or even stunned to find two unconscious bodies- he was a detective, after all- but he couldn't deny he was surprised to find Kaito and Kokichi huddled together under Kaito's large jacket, leaning on each other's shoulders against the wall and fast asleep. Shuichi felt the urge to take a picture- Kaede would forever bug him if he didn't- but decided against it, and left the door open as he ran to call for Maki.
The two could use a few more minutes together in heaven.